. central divinities 111
China. Surviving ritual scriptures in Chinese reveal that the cult was
already present there during the late fourth century.^61 During the Tang
dynasty, Mahāmāyūrī became a central deity in the Esoteric Buddhist
pantheon of the Zhenyan tradition. The enduring importance and
popularity of Mahāmāyūrī in the post-Tang period is evidenced by the
Buddhist sculptures of Dazu dating from the Northern and Southern
(^61) Cf. Sørensen 2006c.
Figure 10. Tracing model for drawing images of Yamāntaka. Qing.